Two weeks ago I asked all of you, as well as residents in the Ashford Park neighborhood, how to address safety concerns regarding the intersection of Dresden Drive and Clairmont Road. The concern is that the MARTA bus stop shelter and shelter advertising blocks the vision of drivers who are traveling east on Dresden (towards Buford Hwy) and making a right to head south on Clairmont Road. The drivers have a hard time looking left (north) to see if there is oncoming traffic.

I got some good feedback, especially on Facebook . One week ago I shared that feedback with the City of Brookhaven’s elected officials and representatives from MARTA. After almost a week of no response from Brookhaven officials or MARTA, I followed-up with both groups.

City Councilman Jim Eyre of Brookhaven responded by saying that since this safety issue involved the location of a MARTA bus stop that MARTA would be responsible for deciding how to handle it. Wendy Prescott, MARTA’s Bus Shelter Program Coordinator, said, “The site was evaluated and it was decided that the shelter will be removed within a month, and be replaced with a bench. Due to the site condition the shelter cannot be relocated. Georgia Power will be notified to disconnect the power and the shelter will be removed.”

While I am happy that DECA was able to work with MARTA to resolve this safety concern, which will likely save lives and prevent injuries, I am disappointed that the only way to do so was by removing the shelter. Although I am glad a bench will be added in place of the shelter, losing the shelter will adversely affect MARTA users who will no longer be sheltered from inclement weather at this bus stop.

At DECA’s October Quarterly meeting a resident suggest that we work with MARTA to improve bus stops in our area by adding more shelters and benches. I want to make it clear that despite this outcome, we remain committed to doing exactly that. We also remain committed to working with MARTA, our elected officials and others to improve transportation options in our area for motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, MARTA users and others.